Results: Pandemic Survey of the Canadian Geospatial Sector

In October of 2020, GoGeomatics Canada conducted a survey of how the Canadian geospatial sector was coping with the global pandemic. What follows are results and some analysis of the survey.

The survey was sent to a small slice of our 4,500 GoGeomatics newsletter subscribers. If you are interested in participating in our surveys in future please sign up for our newsletter.

Who responded to the survey?

This question was all about figuring out who from the sector responded to the survey. Almost 90% of the respondents identified as folks who are employed in the location technology sector.

Here I wanted to get a better idea of the activities people in the sector work on. As people could choose more than one option I surmise some of us wear a couple of hats.

Anecdotally, living in Ottawa, I know many friends and family are working from home. Much of the work force here is in government. Confirmed here.

Only 10% of respondents felt they had no worries. Please pour me whatever they are having. My takeaway here is that the vast majority of us are experiencing higher stress levels. No surprise.

Here again we see that the pandemic has had a major impact on our lives.

Most people feel that employers are handling the pandemic well. This is a good sign for our ecosystem.

This question goes to more specific causes of stress and anxiety. Almost 40% of the respondents felt that the higher levels of stress was affecting them most. More questions here might illuminate the picture.

Again I would say anecdotally, from running GeoIgnite online and our GoGeomatics Meetups online, I find that the community is more willing to take part in online events. Here the survey bears this out at over 60% of respondents indicating a willingness to attend more online events.

What does it all mean?

The Canadian Geospatial Sector workforce is in general stressed out. We think that our organizations are doing a pretty good job and we are ready more than ever to attend online events.

You’re Not Alone: A Survival Guide for COVID Times

GoGeomatics has reached out to friends who offer some mindfulness and stress-reduction tools to help us not only get through the dark days, but how to take advantage of the natural isolation the pandemic has provided and actually deepen our self care routines. It’s important that we take care of ourselves and we build support systems that work for us.

If you or you employer are interested you can sign up for a course on mindfulness and de-stress.

Meditation and relaxation practice

Date And Time:
Sun, November 8, 2020
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM EST

Get 10% off the cost of the course when you use the code “THRIVE10”

You’re Not Alone: A Survival Guide for COVID Times